Latin American Studies provides a multidisciplinary approach to university
study through the languages, cultures, and history of Latin America. Students
learn skills in perceptive reading, analytical thinking, and clear and
forceful writing in courses from BYU's various academic departments: anthropology,
Spanish and Portuguese, political science, sociology, history, etc.
Career Opportunities
Excellent career opportunities exist for those who prepare well in Latin
American Studies. The degree offers a broad, general background in the
liberal arts, and graduates are well prepared for careers in government,
private industry, nonprofit organizations, some domestic and foreign teaching
opportunities, the Peace Corps, the military, and other professions in
which an understanding and appreciation of Latin America are required.
Many graduates go into law, medicine, business, journalism, editing, advertising,
etc. Others have had success in government, such as working for the State
Department, immigration, the FBI, and other agencies. Students are encouraged
to take a double major or at least a strong minor in a single academic
discipline to enhance their career objectives. The combination of another
discipline and Latin American Studies makes the student attractive to
employers desiring specific job skills as well as cultural understanding
and
appreciation.
Academic Requirements
Majors
How do I declare the LAS major?
Go to the Kennedy Advisement Center (273 HRCB) and the secretaries there
will direct you as to how to declare the major. Seniors must meet with
the academic advisor before approval can be given.
Latin American Studies Learning Outcomes and Assessments |
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Learning Outcomes |
Learning Assessments |
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The student will: |
This skill will be assessed: |
| 1. |
Understand and interpret foundational knowledge relating to historical, political, social, geographic, and economic conditions in Latin America. |
by writing critical papers in each academic area during the introductory course, LAS 211. Each paper will be graded by specialists in the area. Students will select two best papers for inclusion in their "progress portfolio." |
| 2. |
Evaluate and decide upon her/his interest and attitude toward Latin American Studies, including career expectations. |
in a personal interview with the LAS coordinator or the LAS 211 instructor. A record of all interviews will be maintained in the LAS coordinator's office. |
| 3. |
Understand basic methodology of social science research. |
by successful completion of LAS 211. |
| 4. |
Write a significant research paper in Spanish or Portuguese dealing with Latin America. |
by the Spanish or Portuguese 339 professor, or in another advanced-language or -literature class. An ungraded copy of the paper will be included in the portfolio. |
| 5. |
Master the skills of library and Internet research relating to Latin America. |
by the LAS 495 (capstone course) professor. |
| 6. |
Write a solid research paper, which integrates recent critical books, on a major topic about Latin America. |
by the LAS 495 (capstone course) professor. The paper will be included in the portfolio. |
| 7. |
Be able to critically anlyze ideas, evidence, and arguments relating to a current topic in Latin America, and effect a significant oral presentation, demonstrating recent knowledge from newspapers and journals in the target language. |
by the LAS 495 (capstone course) professor. |
| 8. |
Demonstrate both written and verbal fluency in Spanish or Portuguese. |
by successful completion of at least three 300- or 400-level Spanish or Portuguese courses. Oral proficiency will be assessed by class reports. The student will select a paper, written in the target language, for inclusion in the portfolio |
| 9. |
Learn to appreciate the culture of Latin America and value service to Latin Americans. |
by structuring and completing an internship of at least 180 hours that incorporates both service learning and academic study. The student's progress will be assessed by both the service provider and IAS 399R professor. |
| 10. |
Write a substantive research paper (12–16 pages) of student journal quality, which interprets and analyzes the academic component of the internship experience. |
by the IAS 399R mentoring professor. The student will upload a final, ungraded version of the paper to his/her portfolio. |
| Download PDF |
MyMAP (Major Academic Plan)
Minors
How do I declare the LAS minor?
Go to the Kennedy Advisement Center (273 HRCB) and the secretaries will
give you a form to declare the LAS Minor. You will also need to have the
LAS Coordinator sign the form, preferably during designated office hours.
Minor Requirements:
From this link:
1. Choose year you are choosing the Minor program
2. Choose Academic Departments & Degrees
3. Choose International and Area Studies
4. Scroll down to see Minor Requirements
An Overview of Courses Taught (PDF)
This chart provides information on when courses have been offered in the
past and which courses will be offered during the next semester or term
(according to the most recent class timetable). Future schedules are tentative
and subject to change. Hence students should still check with departments
for course scheduling and availability. Note: Not all courses are
taught with the same frequency; some are often taught while others are
seldom or rarely taught. So, please plan accordingly. For example, if
a course has not been taught during the last two plus years it may not
be likely to be taught in the near future. Students are strongly advised
to work with the advisement center located in 237 HRCB.
Other Accepted Courses
From time to time other departments including Anthropology, Art History,
Comparative Literature, Dance, History, Humanities, and Sociology, offer
courses with Latin American content that may be substituted for classes
required by the LAS major or minor. The LAS coordinator must approve any
substitutions.
Fulfilling the Internship Requirement
See left menu option "Internship/Study Abroad/Service Learning Requirements"
Study Abroad/Service Learning/Academic Internship
FAQs
Q: How do I meet the Internship/Study
Abroad/Service Learning requirement?
A: There are several options for completing this requirement:
• Find out about the available STUDY ABROAD PROGRAMS, VOLUNTEER
PROGRAMS, INTERNSHIPS, and FIELD STUDIES that BYU sponsors in Latin
America by looking at the flyers outside of 280 HRCB or online at http://kennedy.byu.edu/isp.
Any of these programs will count toward completing this requirement.
In order to receive appropriate credit a program must be approved in
advance by the LAS coordinator. (Non-Latin American programs such as
the Madrid Study Abroad will not fulfill this requirement).
• To set up a FOREIGN INDIVIDUAL ACADEMIC INTERNSHIP or a FIELD
STUDY in Latin America that is not part of a packaged BYU program, speak
with the program coordinator in 280A HRCB to discuss options and requirements.
International Internships and Field Studies may receive BYU credit,
with credit hours paid through regular tuition, as students develop
their own curriculum in conjunction with faculty members, under the
direction of the ISP office.
• To set up a DOMESTIC INDIVIDUAL ACADEMIC INTERNSHIP with a
Latin American emphasis, speak with Debbie Kinjo ( 273 HRCB) to discuss
options and requirements. Domestic Individual Internships may receive
BYU credit, with credit hours paid through regular tuition, as students
develop their own curriculum in conjunction with a faculty member, under
the direction of the Domestic Internship Advisor.
• DIRECTED READINGS as part of study/work done abroad or research
done through ORCA GRANTS, when approved by the LAS Coordinator, can
also count.
Q: What is an internship?
A: An internship is a learning experience that requires
application of academic skills in a supervised field setting, either in
Latin America or for an organization working directly with the Latino
population in the U.S. Other universities’ programs or internships
with companies in Latin America (or LA-affiliated companies in the U.S.)
may also count. Credit is given for the academic work that you do, in
relation to your internship experience. BYU’s ISP programs typically
require taking nine credit hours, most of which are courses related to
the specific program. Three of these hours count toward the internship
requirement, while other hours should count toward your minor or major.
The LAS Coordinator must approve any course substitutions. Individual
Internships or Field Studies require taking at least three hours per semester
or term.
Q: When should I plan for and complete this
requirement?
A: Begin your planning as soon as possible after declaring
the LAS major. Plan well in advance to allow for class availability and to
choose the most convenient time. Foreign Individual Academic Internships typically
require eight to ten weeks to coordinate. Those students wishing to complete
a foreign internship or field study should preferably wait until their junior
or senior year.
Q: Do I have to go overseas?
A: No. Although it is important to understand how valuable
a foreign experience is and going abroad is strongly recommended, it is
not required. The Washington Seminar, when offering courses or internships
related to Latin America, can count toward this requirement. A student
can also set up a Domestic Individual Academic Internship either locally
or in another part of the United States that:
1. Relates to an academic field
2. Involves working with the Latino population or relates to Latin America
Q: Why should I go to Latin America if
I already served a mission there?
A: While a mission is a very beneficial experience, it
does not require academic training. This requirement entails an academic
component to broaden your experience in Latin America through a specific
academic discipline.
Q: May I complete an internship through another
department?
A: Yes. The Washington Seminar, when relating to Latin
America, may count toward this requirement. Span. 399R or Port. 399R,
taken through the Department of Spanish and Portuguese, may also count.
Q: May I receive retroactive credit for an
internship?
A: No (with the exception of previously completed Study
Abroad programs in Latin America). The internship is a formal program
generally requiring that you take nine credit hours and that your experience
is overseen by an academic advisor. Most internships have courses set
up that relate to the specific program.
Q: How do I set up a Domestic Individual Academic
Internship?
A: Follow these eight steps:
1. Find and create an internship in your own academic field, tailored
to your interests, that will help build your resume. It should involve
academic expertise such as business, language, education, medicine,
etc. This internship may include many different fields: bi-lingual education,
social work in local agencies, business, or other work that deals with
and is relevant to the Latin American population. See the LAS Internship
Resources link for options available locally and for helpful websites,
and the internship brochure and internship/career information in 273
HRCB. You may also consult with Debbie Kinjo, domestic internship advisor
(273 HRCB).
After deciding what kind of experience would be most helpful to
you:
2. Contact the internship provider to establish a working relationship,
and get written documentation that stipulates the terms of your internship
(duties, total number of hours) and that shows that you have been accepted
as an intern. As an intern you must complete 180 hours of internship
work (60 hours work per 1.0 credit).
3. Meet with LAS coordinator (211 HRCB) for internship approval.
4. Meet with Debbie Kinjo (273 HRCB) to obtain department and university
forms needed to receive academic credit for the internship. She will
explain all the requirements and expectations for receiving course credit,
including finding a faculty mentor and receiving a grade.
5. Find a faculty mentor to oversee your internship and have him or
her fill out a course contract. The faculty mentor overseeing the internship
does not receive any compensation; he or she supervises the internship
solely out of a desire to help you increase your knowledge about and
appreciation for Latin America. You will normally read at least 1,000
pages per 3.0 credit hours, complete a learning journal, and write a
final paper.
6. Compete and submit all course contract and university forms to Debbie Kinjo (273 HRCB); she will give the forms to the Kennedy Center director, who
must approve the internship experience before she will then give you permission
to register for academic credit.
7. Register for IAS 399R by using an add/drop card. Cory Leonard, Kennedy
Center assistant director, will sign the card and be listed as the course
instructor.
8. After completing the internship submit all work to the faculty mentor.
After evaluating the work, he or she will submit a grade for the academic
coursework and the internship work.
Q: How do I set up a Foreign Individual Academic Internship?
A: Follow these eight steps:
1. Find or create an internship in your own academic field, tailored
to your interests and one that will help build your resume. It should
involve academic expertise such as business, language, education, medicine,
etc. This includes many different fields: bi-lingual education, social
work in local agencies, business, or other work that deals with and
is relevant to the Latin American population. See the LAS Internship
Resources link for options available locally and for helpful web sites.
After deciding what kind of experience would be most helpful to you
(business, social work, medical field, etc.):
2. Meet with the ISP program coordinator in 280A HRCB for preliminary
advisement. Then contact the internship provider to establish a working
relationship, and get written documentation that stipulates the terms
of your internship and that shows that you have been accepted as an
intern.
3. Meet with LAS coordinator (211 HRCB) for internship approval.
4. To set up the internship you will:
a. Apply online through the ISP
office, “Applications,”
b. Pay a $25 non-refundable application fee, and
c. Write a two-page research proposal describing the length of the
experience, the location of the proposed internship, travel, -background
on the internship provider, and a description of internship responsibilities.
In addition, address the course work you desire to work on during
your internship, indicating your major/minor and how the proposed
course(s) meet your graduation requirements. If known, feel free to
indicate faculty you would like to work with in creating individualized
course contracts.
5. A program coordinator will consider the research proposal, and he
or she will contact a faculty member whose expertise is relevant to
your proposed internship.
6. You will then meet with the program coordinator and a student facilitator
to review the internship contract (which must be set up for at least
three credit hours) and to find out which faculty member will oversee
the internship.
7. With faculty clearance you will then arrange to meet with the assigned
faculty member to set up the course contract requirements. These internship
credit hours should be taken simultaneously with other credit while
at BYU. Internship work should total at least 180 hours, or roughly
12 hours per week during the course of a semester. The academic component
for all internship credit hours includes 1,000 pages of reading, daily
learning journal entries, and a final report or research paper. If additional
contracted courses are needed then meet with the LAS coordinator to
identify which courses could be taken concurrently while completing
the internship. Turn in signed course contract forms to 280 HRCB. The
entire process usually takes from 8 to 10 weeks.
8. You will register for your coursework through the ISP office. Other
forms and information will be asked of you. As part of your ISP program,
you will receive a free flight bag and an International Student Identification
Card (ISIC).
Latin American Studies Graduate Programs
(¥
indicates National Resource Center)
LAS Master's Programs
Georgetown University: Five areas for MA: anthropology, economics,
government, history, literature.
¥Indiana
University: Also offers MA/MBA, MA/MLS, MA/MPA. Areas of focus: anthropology,
folklore, geography, history, literature, and political science. Courses
offered in Haitian Creole.
New York University: Also offers MA/LL.M, MA/Museum Studies MA,
MA/Journalism MA. Specialized fields for MA: anthropology, economics,
history, Spanish or Portuguese (language or literature), politics, sociology.
¥Stanford
University: Also offers MA/JD, MA/MD, MA/MAT, MA/MBA. Unique library
collection: Chile, women, and LA Film.
State University of New York at Albany: Also offers graduate certificate
program and LA track for Spanish PhD. MA concentrates on ethnic and area
studies. Areas of strength: women's studies, U.S./Latino studies, migration
studies, development studies, Mesoamerican anthropology, Caribbean literature,
education, and Puerto Rican studies.
¥Tulane
University: Offers joint MA/JD and MA/MBA degrees. MA options: history,
art history, anthropology, architecture, political science, economics,
architecture, law, sociology, Spanish and Portuguese, international business,
public health, and applied development. Strengths: indigenous languages,
Brazilian languages/cultures, art and performance traditions of Afro-Caribbean
region, LA community and urban planning, and tropical geography/environmentalism
in Gulf-Caribbean region.
¥University
of Chicago: Also offers MA/MBA program. Flexible interdisciplinary
training: language, culture, history, politics. Strengths: human rights,
Andean-Amazonian environments/cultures, and LA diasporas. Courses offered
in Nahuatl and Aymara.
¥University
of Arizona: Also offers PhD minor. MA areas: anthropology, geography
and regional development, history, political science, Spanish American
literature, and women's studies. Other areas: environmental studies, indigenous
studies, inter-American political economy, Mexican studies, Brazil, Central
America, and border studies. Courses offered in Kakchiquel Maya.
¥University
of California—Berkeley: Also offers MA/MJ. Very interdisciplinary,
student chooses two to three areas of concentration.
¥University
of California at Los Angeles: Offers MA/MEd, MA/MLIS, MA/MPH, MA/MBA,
MA/Urban Planning MA. Articulated degrees: education, public health, library
and information science. Concurrent degrees: management and urban planning.
LAS MA integrates two or three areas: anthropology, archaeology, art history,
economics, education, ethnomusicology, folklore, geography, history, law,
library and information science, linguistics, management, political science,
Portuguese, public health, sociology, Spanish, theater arts, urban planning.
¥University
of California—San Diego: Courses offered for MA include ethnic
studies, theatre. Courses offered in Mixtec.
¥University
of Connecticut: Also offers MA/MPA, MA/MBA. Concentrate on one discipline:
anthropology, history, political science or LA languages and literatures.
Interdisciplinary Concentrations: LA area atudies, LA cultural studies,
development studies, LA public opinion research, LA business, public affairs.
¥University
of Florida: Also offers LAS graduate certificate. Areas: Andean studies,
anthropology, Brazilian studies, Caribbean studies, economics, food and
resource economics, geography, history, international communication, political
science, religion and society, romance languages and literatures, sociology,
tropical conservation and development.
¥University
of Kansas: One of top three U.S. Central American library collections.
¥University
of New Mexico: Focus in the humanities or social sciences: anthropology,
art history, Brazilian literature, community/regional planning, economics,
gender studies, history, human rights, international management, political
science, philosophy, sociology, Spanish American literature, Spanish linguistics.
¥University
of Texas—Austin: Concurrent degrees: business, communications,
community/regional planning, law, public affairs. Concentration Studies:
Brazilian and Mexican topics, LA-concentration environmental studies MA.
LAS MA areas: anthropology, art and art history, business administration,
communication, community/regional planning, economics, education, ethnomusicology,
fine arts, folklore, geography, government, history, public affairs, sociology,
Spanish and Portuguese. Largest LA University library collection. Courses
offered in Quechua Maya.
¥University
of Wisconsin—Madison: Also offers MA/JD, PhD minor. Strengths:
humanities, social sciences, natural and ecological sciences, pofessional
schools. Faculty interests: development and labor economy, Andean ethnohistory
and ethnology, African diaspora art, neotropics conservation, cultural
geography, social history of LA, democratic consolidation, Brazilian social
stratification, comparative social movements, Luso-Brazilian literature
and culture, colonial and modern LA literature, film and culture, Spanish
literature.
Vanderbilt: Also offers MA/MBA, LAS Certificate, PhD Minor. Strengths:
Portuguese and Brazilian studies, Mesoamerican anthropology, LA history
and literature, Iberian studies.
Universities offering LAS PhDs
¥Tulane
University: Program strengths: history, art history, sociology.
¥University
of California—Berkeley: Focus on the discipline of choice.
¥University
of New Mexico: Well defined course of study integrating several disciplines.
MA normally required for admittance. Areas: anthropology, art history,
history, Spanish American literature, Brazilian literature, Spanish linguistics,
political science, sociology. Minor areas: economics, international management,
philosophy.
¥University
of Texas—Austin: Program must be interdisciplinary. Hardly anyone
admitted.
Strong LAS-oriented PhD by Program
History: Indiana University, Rutgers University, Tulane, SUNY
(Stonybrook), University of Texas—Austin, Berkeley, UCLA, University
of Chicago, Yale, University of Wisconsin—Madison
Language and Literature: Brown, Harvard, NYU, Penn State, Princeton,
Berkeley, University of Connecticut, Georgetown (strong linguistics program),
Yale University, Middlebury (strong in language studies).
Environmental Studies: University of Miami
Strong LAS-oriented Programs
¥Columbia
University: LAS certificate, advises Social Science graduate students
with LA interests.
¥Duke
University: Offers LA graduate certificate.
¥Harvard
University: Strong in LA literature. Courses offered in Kaqchikel
Maya.
¥Cornell
University: Offers LAS graduate Minor. Courses offered in Quechua.
Johns Hopkins University: Offers Western Hemisphere MA, PhD, and LA
Literature PhD Strong in Economics, Languages.
¥Notre
Dame University: MA, PhD in International Studies with research area
in LA Politics.
¥Ohio
State University: LAS certificate for MA, PhD LA Literatures &
Cultures PhD Courses offered in Quechua, beginning Yucatec Maya.
University of Maryland: Undergraduate LAS certificate. Courses
offered in Quechua.
¥University
of Michigan: Graduate LA Certificate. Library: Pre-Colombian &
LA Art, Architecture.
¥University
of North Carolina: Offers graduate LAS certificate. Summer Yucatec
Maya Program offered.
¥University
of Pittsburgh: Graduate certificate in LAS and LA Social & Public
Policy. Program in LA Archaeology and Brazilian Studies. Courses offered
in Quechua, Zapotec, Mayan Languages.
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